North America Region a World Leader in 4G and Smartphone Adoption, According to New GSMA Report

12.9.2017 15:00 | Business Wire

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North America leads the world in 4G and smartphone adoption and is
expected to migrate rapidly to 5G networks and services, according to a
new GSMA study. The latest edition of the GSMA’s flagship Mobile
Economy series, published at Mobile World Congress Americas this
week, forecasts that smartphones connected to 4G networks will account
for four out of five mobile connections in North America by 2020, a
higher proportion than any other global region. The report also predicts
that the mobile ecosystem’s contribution to the North American economy
will increase to more than $1 trillion by 2020, equivalent to almost
five per cent of regional GDP.

“The successful large-scale rollouts of 4G networks across the US and
Canada, alongside strong consumer take-up of 4G-capable smartphones, has
established North America as one of the most advanced mobile regions in
the world, on a par with the most advanced markets in Europe and Asia,”
said Mats Granryd, Director General of the GSMA. “North American mobile
subscribers are also highly engaged digital consumers, using their
smartphones to access a broad range of services and content – and are
set to become early adopters of 5G services in areas such as ultra-HD
video, AR/VR, artificial intelligence and autonomous driving.”

5G to Account for Half of North American Mobile Market by 2025

There were 291 million unique mobile subscribers1 in North
America at the end of last year, representing 80 per cent of the
region’s population, a figure expected to increase to 313 million (84
per cent) by 2020. These consumers are characterised by high levels of
mobile engagement and expenditure, which contributed to a nine-fold
increase in mobile data traffic between 2012 and 2016 in the US2.
In revenue terms, North America is estimated to be a $250 billion market
this year, accounting for more than a fifth of global operator revenue.

The region is also a benchmark for rapid migration to next-generation
devices and networks. At the end of 2016, North America had the highest
smartphone and 4G adoption rates of any region worldwide, at 78 per cent
and 63 per cent, respectively – forecast to grow to 81 per cent and 84
per cent by 2020. By that point, operators in both the US and Canada are
expected to have launched 5G networks and, by 2025, around half of the
region’s connections are expected to be running on 5G, a considerably
greater share than other key 5G global regions. In the US, fixed
wireless will be the initial use case for early 5G deployments, with
full standardised 5G services expected to follow in 2019.

Mobile Ecosystem Contributing to Economic Growth, Jobs and Public
Funding

In 2016, mobile technologies and services generated $790 billion of
economic value added in North America, equivalent to 3.9 per cent of GDP3.
By the end of the decade, this contribution is forecast to increase to
$1.02 trillion (4.7 per cent of GDP) as greater use of mobile
technologies, including M2M and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions,
drive improvements in productivity. North America’s mobile ecosystem
also supported 2.5 million jobs in 2016 and made a $110 billion
contribution to the public sector via taxation.

The new report also outlines how North America is leading developments
in the IoT ecosystem, with mobile operators playing a leading role via
acquisitions, network developments and the provision of IoT services.
According to Machina Research (August 2017), the number of IoT
connections will increase fourfold between 2016 and 2025 in North
America, reaching nearly 6 billion by that point. In the US, all four
main operators have either already launched or are committed to
launching Mobile IoT networks using licensed spectrum.

The new report ‘The Mobile Economy: North America 2017’ is
authored by GSMA Intelligence, the research arm of the GSMA. To access
the full report and related infographics, please visit: http://www.gsma.com/mobileeconomy/.

-ENDS-

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting
nearly 800 operators with more than 300 companies in the broader mobile
ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies,
equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in
adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces industry-leading
events such as Mobile World Congress, Mobile World Congress Shanghai,
Mobile World Congress Americas and the Mobile 360 Series of conferences.

For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com.
Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.

1 A unique mobile subscriber represents an individual that
can account for multiple SIM connections